Red Centre Adventure !

RichardMcN · Aug 27, 2017

15 amp charging is great when you just need half a tank (or 3/4 tank if you arrive 4pm and leave 10am). Just turn up at any of thousands of caravan parks all over Aust and ask for a powered site for the car. You can still stay in a cabin or hotel yourself !

In this case, the Devils Marbles Hotel, I casually asked if there was a 3 phase outlet and the owner said "not now but we'll put one in next week!" Amazing. That brings to 4 the number of sites pn this route supplying and installing their own 3 phase outlets.

The level of conscious about Elon and EV's has increased massively over the last year, and the "sell" is easy. On Tessie's Round Australia trip last year there was only 1 site willing to buy and install their owm outlet. Now 4 on a much shorter route !

Devils Marbles!

Steve from Outback Caravan Park in Tennant Creeek picks up a 3 phase outlet which he has had freighted in and has it installed within the hour.

We stay at a nice cabin.

The 19th century Overland Telegraph is a big part of the history of the route. There are several stations you can look at. This is Tennant Creek.

Muckaty Station - proposed nuclear waste facility site

Scenery

Nice

Tight overtake (this is a single road train)

Katherine Showground is always a great spot to charge with lots of shade. It is a year and a day since Tessie's last charge there and the photograph is identical except for the Juice Booster 2 and TESSIE plates !

The council organised weekend access especially.

What ?

And after a quick stop at Adelaide River (where we found 20 amp 3 phase but need to organise permission), on to Darwin !

RIPPERTON · Aug 27, 2017

Tessie still looks like she just rolled out of the showroom Richard, you must be a very careful driver, or a lucky one to not have had any Roo's jump out in front of you.
Is there any way to feed 2 or even 3 caravan leads into that 240v charge cable.
I used to use both charge point outlets at Rouse Hill whilst at the movies.

RichardMcN · Aug 28, 2017

RIPPERTON said:
Tessie still looks like she just rolled out of the showroom Richard, you must be a very careful driver, or a lucky one to not have had any Roo's jump out in front of you.

Unfortunately @RIPPERTON just before you were writing those words, Tessie found herself under the sprinklers at the Katherine showgrounds while charging. I didn't think much of it and left her there, but she was left stained with calcite or similar deposits from the bore water which would not clean off. A trap for the unwary. Fortunately we found a detailer who had exactly the right solution and now she looks great. Wallet is a bit lighter though!

A nice shot of Greg's from back in SA

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED ! ! !

Tessie arrives in Darwin, and claims (I think - let me know if otherwise) the title of first electric vehicle to cross Australia via the Red Centre unsupported (ie without support vehicle or mobile generator).

Charles Darwin Uni have been good enough to replace their dead DC charger with two 3 phase outlets to match the Round Australia route.

And a nice looooong restful charge (16A single phase) at the City Edge destination charger.

Publicity from Alice

Sorry no mention of TOCA (although I do always say both TOCA and AEVA). Greg outsmarted me with his AEVA business card !

Lauren from the NT News in Darwin gets the scoop!

This has been a fantastic trip. Fun but with a mission.

A special thanks to Richard Bentley (on the left in the Alice news clip above) for having the vision of a sun-drenched country able to run its own cars without road trains crossing the country full of imported carbon fuel. A LOT of groundwork on Richard's part!

This is going to be a great Tesla route to Darwin. We have committments from all sites but one (working on that) to give a 3 phase route with a max spacing of 350km (300 soon hopefully) all the way from Adelaide to Darwin with Uluru as a very do-able side trip!

The new roadcrew.

David Cann (Leaf owner from Adelaide) and Ted will take Tessie home. A new adventure for Tessie, and her first without me.

Actually these crossover trips are a great idea. Three weeks off work got me to Darwin with two festivals and great side trips from Alice.

A difficult moment as Tessie drives off in the morning light

Next time I see her will (hopefully) be as she cruises up the driveway into her welcoming home in the suburbs of Sydney ! ! !

conman · Aug 28, 2017

Awesome work and great pictures. Congratulations on your achievement and thanks for helping raise awareness and develop infrastructure!

Blue heaven · Aug 28, 2017

Congratulations Richard and the various crew members of Tessie, another ground breaking journey that many people believe can't be done, some great photos and of course great inspiration for other EV owners and soon to be EV owners.

brewster · Aug 28, 2017

Well done Richard. You are such an inspiration!

Dylanpete · Aug 31, 2017

Richard, as mentioned on Facebook, a super thanks in name of many EV drivers for your pioneering work!
Which route are David and Ted taking and where have you planned with them to charge, at what power rating?

RichardMcN · Aug 31, 2017

Thanks for the kind words guys. Feel free to start planning your own holiday in this area !

Dylanpete said:
Richard, as mentioned on Facebook, a super thanks in name of many EV drivers for your pioneering work!
Which route are David and Ted taking and where have you planned with them to charge, at what power rating?

They will be doing a retrace of my route actually @Dylanpete (apart from Yuendumu and the Mereenie Loop road). There are a quite a few sites that need to take some sort of action, and David's return trip provides a great nudge along. Things can take a fair bit longer than you expect in the outback! Even getting 2 visits not just one is important to get things moving, and I reckon there are about 3 sites (not naming) where David's return visit is the difference between an installed outlet and something that drifts.

All sites will be 32A 3 phase (apart from 20A 3 phase at Kulgera, Tennant Creek, Tilmouth Well and Adelaide River if approved) at generally less than 300km spacing (none over 350), and these are gradually appearing on Plugshare. Apart from that there are 3 temporary locations (contractors, mines etc) in SA which will not go on Plugshare but will be replaced by permanent ones at Marla Roadhouse (installation in a couple of months when the peak tourist season has settled), Coober Pedy Desert Cave Hotel (should be in time for David), and hopefully Glendambo Hotel (we have given them the outlet, but installation is still subject to management approval). In the few gaps, David will use 15A which I suspect he used at Devil's Marbles Hotel (soon to be a 3 phase site) last night.

Sounds like David, Ted and Tessie are having a smooth trip back so all good !

NT News ...

This time I did get TOCA in !

Also a tiny interview yesterday on ABC local radio Darwin.
.

*KT* · Sep 1, 2017

Well done @RichardMcN great publicity for EV ownership. Kudos AEVA and TOCA for the funding for plugs.
Hope tessie enjoys her second trip and gets home safely with her drivers minus the bore water experience this time. Eek.

garyjac · Sep 2, 2017

Very well done. I'm still waiting for the book. You have enough material by now to just about outdo the Leyland Bros

The high calcium water spot issue can be dealt with relatively cheaply in the field, (for future reference), by keeping the car thoroughly wet and drying with a WET microfibre cloth (sounds weird, I know), and Bowden's Own "After Glow" drying agent. If the spots have dried to the point of visibility then vinegar (yes, you heard right) will take them off if you spray it on and let it sit 10 mins and then flush with water as you go. Otherwise, it's get a case of get out the random orbital polisher (not in the outback!) and a quick run over with 4500 grade polish, then re-apply your coating, if any. That's probably what the detailer charged you for

RichardMcN · Sep 2, 2017

OK I thought that was pretty well the end of the thread, apart from maybe a nice shot of Tessie arriving back home.

However ... David Cann is taking such striking photos as he steers Tessie safely southwards ...

Night charging in Darwin (in last post but not acknowledged as David's)

*KT* said:
Well done @RichardMcNHope tessie enjoys her second trip and gets home safely with her drivers minus the bore water experience this time. Eek.

garyjac said:
The high calcium water spot issue can be dealt with relatively cheaply in the field, (for future reference), by keeping the car thoroughly wet and drying with a WET microfibre cloth (sounds weird, I know), and Bowden's Own "After Glow" drying agent. If the spots have dried to the point of visibility then vinegar (yes, you heard right) will take them off if you spray it on and let it sit 10 mins and then flush with water as you go. Otherwise, it's get a case of get out the random orbital polisher (not in the outback!) and a quick run over with 4500 grade polish, then re-apply your coating, if any. That's probably what the detailer charged you for

David charging Tessie at Katherine Showgrounds. No idea where this spot is but no sprinklers !

Wycliffe Well - Tessie and the UFO's.

Starry Night

Worth pulling over for this fella

Barrow Creek - outback icon

Wow !

Blue heaven · Sep 2, 2017

RichardMcN said:
OK I thought that was pretty well the end of the thread, apart from maybe a nice shot of Tessie arriving back home.

However ... David Cann is taking such striking photos as he steers Tessie safely southwards ...

Night charging in Darwin (in last post but not acknowledged as David's)
View attachment 245260

David charging Tessie at Katherine Showgrounds. No idea where this spot is but no sprinklers !
View attachment 245254

Wycliffe Well - Tessie and the UFO's.
View attachment 245258

Starry Night
View attachment 245257

Worth pulling over for this fella
View attachment 245255

Barrow Creek - outback icon
View attachment 245256

Wow !